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Stem cell researchers exploring a new approach for the care of respiratory diseases report that an experimental treatment involving transplantable lung cells was associated with improved outcomes in tests on mice with acute lung injury. The lung cells were derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Findings by investigators at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are scheduled to appear in the March issue of Molecular Therapy.

Los Angeles, CA—A researcher at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science is investigating the potential use of non-pathogenic baker's yeast as a promising, natural therapy for cancer.

Dr. Mamdooh Ghoneum presented his findings Tuesday, Feb. 2 at a special conference on "Cell Death Mechanism," sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) at the Omni San Diego Hotel in San Diego.

People who spend a lot of time browsing the net are more likely to show depressive symptoms, according to the first large-scale study of its kind in the West by University of Leeds psychologists.

Researchers found striking evidence that some users have developed a compulsive internet habit, whereby they replace real-life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites. The results suggest that this type of addictive surfing can have a serious impact on mental health.

Despite the frightening regularity of humanitarian disasters like the earthquake in Haiti, international responses remain fragmented and must be improved, argue a group of trauma surgeons on bmj.com today.

They warn that an uncoordinated push to get people and equipment into the affected zone as soon as possible can worsen the situation and reduce the effectiveness of relief efforts.

Medical researchers were shocked to discover that virtually all human embryonic stem cell lines being used in 2005 were contaminated. Animal byproducts used to line Petri dishes had left traces on the human cells. If those cells had been implanted in a human body they likely would have been rejected by the patient's immune system.

This release is available in http://chinese..org/zh/emb_releases/2010-02/jaaj-rkf012810.php">Chinese.

Patients with high levels of proteinuria (protein in urine) in addition to another marker of reduced kidney function had an associated increased risk of all-cause death, heart attack or progression to kidney failure, according to a study in the February 3 issue of JAMA.

An analysis of previous studies suggests that for patients with a suspected blood clot in a deep vein of a leg, withholding anticoagulation therapy after a negative whole-leg compression ultrasound is associated with a low risk of developing a blood clot during the subsequent 3 months, suggesting that multiple ultrasounds may not be necessary for some low-risk patients, according to an article in the February 3 issue of JAMA.

Being diagnosed with prostate cancer may increase a man's risk of suicide or cardiovascular death, especially right after diagnosis, according to a new study published online February 2 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A 60-million-year-old relative of crocodiles described this week by University of Florida researchers in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology was likely a food source for Titanoboa, the largest snake the world has ever known.

RICHMOND, Va. (Feb. 2, 2010) – An international team of researchers has identified a new theoretical approach that may one day make the synthesis of hydrogen fuel storage materials less complicated and improve the thermodynamics and reversibility of the system.

Pyrethroids, among the most widely-used home pesticides, are winding up in California rivers at levels toxic to some stream-dwellers, possibly endangering the food supply of fish and other aquatic animals, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Southern Illinois University (SIU).

The traditional practice of restricting food and fluids during labour does not provide any benefits, finds a new review co-authored by a Queen's University Associate Professor.

"Based on our review, there is no convincing and current evidence to support restriction of fluids, and perhaps food, for women during labour. Women should be able to choose for themselves," says Dr. Joan Tranmer of the Queen's School of Nursing.

WASHINGTON, DC (February 2, 2010) – Pamphlets detailing the warning signs associated with heart disease may soon end up in an unexpected location: your child's pediatrician's office. According to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five American teens has at least one risk factor for developing heart disease in adulthood.

LOS ANGELES (Feb. 1, 2010) – Fat tissue in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome produces an inadequate amount of the hormone that regulates how fats and glucose are processed, promoting increased insulin resistance and inflammation, glucose intolerance, and greater risk of diabetes and heart disease, according to a study conducted at the Center for Androgen-Related Research and Discovery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have developed an efficient and cost-effective method to speed up the breeding of scab-resistant barley cultivars, thus improving crop quality for small-grain breeders in the Northern Plains.

Shiaoman Chao, a molecular geneticist at the ARS Cereal Crops Research Unit in Fargo, N.D., collaborated with scientists from North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota in the study.